Bikedued

Ultra hot! Sadly mine is now a bare frame again, as everything got robbed for the Geoffrey Butler. The next build will probably be a single speed, but I want a TA crank for that project. Those are 650 wheels I take it? Looks awesome!,,,,BD

djkashuba 

Thanks. Yes. 650 with Grand Bois Hetres.

-D

eschlwc

simply, campy nuovo record componentry.

but more so, it was moto's best 'sport tourer,' with 531 db frame, the finest components, and using a balanced geometry. my top tube is slightly longer the seat tube. in that way, it's like the grand jubilé dedicated tourer. but the head tube angle and shorter stays are more like the le champion.

my grand jubilé has a 2" longer wheelbase. it feels longer and smoother, but doesn't miss much when climbing. that vitus 172 tubing (that the gr also used after the company moved away from 531) is really nice and light. i love it.

the gr's last version (85?) came with columbus sl tubing, and was setup as more of a racing bike.

djkashuba 

Thanks for the explanation. My Fall/Winter project is to make over my Le Champion (again) into more of a "sport tourer/ randoesque ride". Friendlier gearing for hills and perhaps dyno-lighting. Big 700c tires as well. We will see what the budget dictates...


Motobecane Le Champion by djk762, on Flickr

jeirvine 

I have joined the club. Bought this from the original owner (it has a PG Co. Police Registration from 1976). It seemed to be all original, with TA cranks, and the RD is dated '72. I cleaned everything and swapped in some Stronglights with French pedal threads so I could try out some Lyotard Berthets. I added the pump too - he said he tossed the original. It came with Normandy/Weinmann 27s, and i had the Campy/Gentleman wheelset which fits fine with the original brakes. More pics here.

Jseis 

say Billy Chuck. Was the complete GR gruupo Campy NR including BB & Crank, etc?

I've always wondered about the Campy dropouts on my Moto GJ which was new January '74 (I figure it was built fall '73) with a crazy quilt of Stronglight, Huret, Pivo, Weinmann, Ideale, Normandy, etc. (can't recall original pedals...ugly) of course I've Heinz '57'd since (but decades ago) with Avocet, TTT, Super Champion, MaFac, Suntour, Time, & etc.

rootboy 

Super nice example, Jeirvine. One of these days I'll get to restoring mine. So many other things to do….

Chicago Al 

jervine...great looking bike!

jseis: Grand Record = Record derailleurs and shifters, also Campy dropouts. Everything else not campy, TA crankset pretty standard but other parts changed year to year.
Grand Jubile' = Huret Jubile' derailleurs and shifters, Huret dropouts. Everything else = 'dog's breakfast.'

The components look to have been chosen for value rather than a uniform 'gruppo': get the 'important' ones on for the name and (perceived) performance, but everything else would depend on hitting a price point. Even by the early 70s there were excellent Japanese parts (Nitto for example) which turned up on Motobecane way before other Euro manufacturers would try them.

The 'Grand Record' and 'Grand Jubile' appear to be models specifically for the US, and the names, components, even the color combinations we all love, may have been dictated by importer Ben Lawee, who was a genius at packaging and marketing bikes. He also had imported Raleigh and Bianchi, started the 'Italvega' brand, then started up the Univega brand.

Jseis 

Was it possible that GR and GJ used the same frame? Maybe shared same Stronglight crank & headset but the GR had better forks? My GJ forks aren't 531 but I'd recalled from memory 40+ years ago that the GR next to the GJ that I bought had 531 forks..I think.

With the Nervex cutout lugs...pretty hard to see the difference .

Chicago Al 

No, GJ has a noticeably longer frame...as eschlwc notes a few posts up, he measured his GJ as 2" longer. And the GJ's frame should have had (according to the catalogs) Huret dropouts. (I was mistaken above and have corrected it, after checking the catalog.) If you're looking at a frame with Campy dropouts maybe it's not a GJ? Though sometimes bikes as built were different from catalog specs. One year the catalog says that the GR has lugs by 'Nervex or Prugnat' so even they weren't sure!

Only the GR had a 531 fork. The specs changed year to year though--Grand Record went from '3 main tubes 531' to '531 throughout.'

The GR came with the TA 'Professional' 3-arm crank, the GJ was Stronglight.

GR came with a Brooks Pro, GJ did not; GR came with 700c tubulars (some years), GJ always had 27" rims.

All these details are in the Moto catalogs you can find at velo-pages.com. I'm just looking at 1974-75-76, other years obviously different.

peugeot mongrel

OK this thread inspires me. Here is my mistreated orphen I got a while back at a FrankenBike swap. I'm still trying to get the stem out without cutting it. I already cut out the seatpost. No wheels but everything on it is original. Pedals still have the caps. I lost one TA dust cover getting it off. 75 I'm pretty sure.

jeirvine 

Bumping for pics. I am seeing if I can get correct French 531 tubing decals for a 72/73 GR. If anyone has or could take pics of originals, it would be greatly appreciated. Since mine did have fork 531 decals I assume the main decal would be like these:
"Garanti construit avec tubes renforcés fourreaux de fourche et arriéres"

theoretical12

question
I recently found a GR in my parent's shed, they've had it stored since 1980 for a friend that never wanted it back.. I know it's pre-1980, is there a way to tell what year it's from?

It needs some work, but do you think it's worth the investment to bring it back up to speed? Some parts probably need to be replaced and there's rust here and there as you can see in the pictures. Any comments or suggestions are definitely appreciated.. thanks!

eschlwc

^ in '78, moto started using vitus 172 for the g.record tubing. that same paint/decal scheme was used through '81.

moto never put stem shifters on a g.record, though. make sure it has a derailleur hanger. crank and pedals look a little suspect.

if you think a component is original and can find a two digit date code on it, look up the code on the vintage trek web site to determine the month/year of the part. this may help determine date of bike production. moto's frame serial usually reveals very little.

theoretical12

thanks for the reply

here are three closer up photos of the crank and pedals, i'm pretty new to bikes so does this look salvageable?

also the owner must have modified the shifters himself? all of the other motos i've seen have down tube shifters? does this make much of a difference for my use of the bike or a difference in having it repaired by my LBS?

rootboy 

I'm not so sure, Jeirvine. My GR is a '74 model, though. It has 531 fork blades, but only the main triangle of the frame. Hence, sez "3 main tubes." Having a heckuva time finding that decal in French.
'73 catalog on Bulgier.net shows the Grand Record as 3 main tubes. GR model not shown in '72 catalog.

Although this one may work for me, if a little early perhaps. Could be right for yours, if it is 3 tubes only.

Number 531PFRENCH

https://www.hlloydcycles.com/531%20history.pdf

jeirvine 

That bike is completely worth saving - Suntour Cyclone derailleur, and TA triple cranks (which require a specially threaded puller BTW), are very nice. It may have a Phil Wood bottom bracket, which is also a good thing, though again it requires a special tool. But that should be fine to use as is, since it uses sealed bearings. Grease the wheel and headset bearings, add new tires, and you should be in for a very cool ride.

unworthy1

I agree it looks worthwhile: the graphics seem consistent with late '70s, maybe '78 to '80 and the components range from pretty nice (the drivetrain) to nice but weird (the Phil pedals), to mediocre (the Weinmann concave rims) to low-rent and out of place (the stem shifters and Grab-on foam grips).
So...something for every taste, there. Probably previously owned by a "real character"...

jessebean

Hey out there, I'm new to the forum But not to Grand Records. I bought one in 1977 or 8, a little foggy on the time period. I rode that bike for ten years till it was stolen, to my utter grief. Just recently got re-interested in the old bike and found this one first on
craigslist in Omaha and couldn't justify the risk. It came up on ebay a couple of weeks later, had great pics so I took the plunge. Offered a wee bit less than asking and ended up getting it for $450 including shipping. It seems to be from 1972 according to the stamp on the rear, campy derailleur. It came all original was great out of the box. The only problem I saw that didn't show in the pics was some very minor surface rust (all ready taken care of). All the grease in all the bearings had congealed but I saw this as positive indication that it hadn't been ridden in a while. Once I got into it though I found that the top race in the headset (Stronglight competition) had either been cross threaded or miss threaded from the factory, it wavered around the fork threads like crazy. I felt like I had made a mistake getting the bike but started looking for parts. Internet helped but all I could find was a complete, original headset for $120, a no go. I've been working with a local store and he just happened to have the exact top race I needed ( thanks to Chris to alpha bikes). Upon reflection the headset problem probably kept this bike from being ridden for a long time, all the cups and cones showed almost no wear. I am now once more a happy camper (cyclist).

jeirvine 

Jessebeam- that is a gorgeous example. Welcome to the club. The headbadge is earlier than the 70's badges I'm familiar with (they seemed to change badges almost every year then.) What's the serial number? Mine was badged like this, and also came with a Pat 72 derailleur:

jeirvine 

What seat pin size do folks' GR's have? Mine came with what seems like an original post that measures about 26.5 mm. I replaced it with a SR single-bolt 26.6 which fit perfectly (got sick of hitting bumps and having the original clamp slip.)

jessebean

That's an interesting badge. The GR I had in the late 70s had the badge that was riveted on. It also had a reynolds decal on the forks, TA cranks and wienmann brakes. Thats all I clearly remember besides the obvious components i.e. campy Derailleurs, nervex lugs. Anyway the serial # on the do is 1242870. Did I mention that I loved my old bike? Am falling in love with this one every time I ride it. I put the the suntour bar cons on my old bike also. I got the current ones from bikerecyclery.com, couldn't resist. I'm thinking of putting on a different stronglite crankset with the pedals tapped for english threads so I can use clipless pedals. Still have the campy down tube shifters and will keep all the orig. equip. for posterity. I love clip less pedals though. Got used to them on a 4 mon. long bike tour across canada and us on a recumbent.

Barrettscv 

My recently acquired '77 Grand Record

I added 250 miles to my Chicago to St Louis road trip yesterday to allow a stop in Madison Wisconsin to inspect this remarkable bike. After 500 miles in one day, I'm home with the purchase.

The seller was the original owner and had the sales receipt from 1977. He said the bike was all original except the tubes, bar tape and the Ideal saddle that was swapped out for the Brooks Professional when the bike was originally purchased. The funny thing is: I have a Brooks Pro on my PX10 and switching it with the Ideal saddle will return both bikes OE.

Every component (except the saddle and bar tape) matches the 1977 Motobecane catalog, including the Michelin Elan tires. The owner said he might have used the bike all of 200 miles and the lack of use is obvious.

It's going to need a tear-down and deep cleaning. There is some corrosion from storage in a basement, but it looks superficial. The seatpost came out without effort and I'm not finding any serious rust or other problems.

I finally have a stock bike from this era that fits me, and I'll keep it all original.

jeirvine 

That's a great find. You will definitely enjoy the ride. Just watch out for toe overlap. Mine has it.

rootboy 

Really nice time capsule there. Great find. What bar and stem did that era GR have?
Does it have a Reynolds decal on the non drive side fork blade? Or none?